Galaxy S25 Edge vs iPhone 17 Air: Everything we know so far
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We are entering the era of super thin phones.
*based on leaks and rumors.
*based on leaks and rumors
*based on leaks and rumors
And while Apple is yet to unveil its rumored iPhone 17 Air (which should replace the Plus model from its lineup), the first contender has arrived, and it is the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge.
Does the S25 Edge live up to the expectations? And how does it compare to all the rumors about the iPhone 17 Air?
Galaxy S25 Edge vs iPhone 17 Air expected differences:
| Galaxy S25 Edge | iPhone 17 Air |
|---|---|
| 6.7-inch screen size | Similar, 6.6" or 6.7" screen size |
| 5.8 mm thickness | Possibly even thinner - 5.5 mm |
| 163 grams | Similar weight |
| Snapdragon 8 Elite chip (8-core) | Possibly A19 chip |
| 12 GB RAM | 8 GB RAM |
| Two rear cameras | One rear camera |
| 200 MP main camera, same as on S25 Ultra | 48 MP main camera, same as on iPhone 17 |
| 12 MP ultra-wide camera | No ultra-wide camera |
| 3,900 mAh battery | Unknown battery size |
| 25 W wired charging | 20 W wired charging likely |
| Wireless charging support | Wireless charging support likely |
| $1,100 for 12/256GB model $1,220 for 12/512GB model | Price below Pro models, possibly around $900 |
Learn more in our in-depth Galaxy S25 Edge vs iPhone 17 Air specs comparison
Table of Contents:
Design and Size
Thin is in
Both the Galaxy S25 Edge and iPhone 17 Air are expected to feature a large screen, with a size of around 6.7 inches.
However, thanks to their super slim construction, the weight of these phones will be closer to that of a small phone. The Galaxy S25 Edge weighs just 163 grams, the same as the much smaller Galaxy S25 (and 15% lighter than the S25 Plus). We expect similar from the iPhone 17 Air.
Both models will also be slim, but how slim exactly?
For the Galaxy S25 Edge we have an exact number — 5.8 mm of thickness, nearly 25% slimmer than the Plus or Ultra models. That is a noticeable reduction. And the iPhone 17 Air is rumored to be even thinner as rumors suggest 5.5 mm thickness.
Are these the thinnest phones to ever exist? Not really! In 2018, the Motorola Moto Z (the one with the Moto Mods) was a popular flagship measuring just 5.2 mm thick! There were a few other super thin models from some less popular brands from China too. If we look at more recognizable phones, the iPhone 16 series were around 6.9 mm, so these new models will be a bit thinner than that.
And compared to foldable phones, these are actually not as thin. The current record holder there is the Oppo Find N5. When you unfold that phone, it opens to a slab with a thickness of just 4.2 mm.
Phone Thickness Comparison
| Phone | Thickness |
|---|---|
| Oppo Find N5 (foldable, 2025) | 4.2 mm (unfolded) |
| Oppo R5 (2014) | 4.9 mm |
| Motorola Moto Z (2016) | 5.2 mm |
| iPhone 17 Air (coming in Sept, 2025) | 5.5 mm |
| Galaxy S25 Edge (coming by May, 2025) | 5.84 mm |
| Galaxy S25 Plus | 7.3 mm |
| iPhone 16 Pro Max | 8.3 mm |
One big question that arises with thinness is durability. After all, some of us still remember the way the iPhone 6 Plus folded when you applied more pressure to it. However, we are not too concerned about that. Both companies would certainly do their best to avoid such a scenario, and Apple just recently made a super slim iPad that was plenty durable.
The Galaxy S25 Edge also supports IP68 water and dust protection, and we expect the same for the iPhone 17 Air.
As for colors, the Galaxy arrives in three colorways with a titanium body: a silver, a jetblack and an icy blue version. We still don't know the colors for the iPhone 17 Air.
Display Differences
With a 6.7-inch display size, both the S25 Edge and iPhone 17 Air will offer plenty of screen real estate.
The iPhone 17 Air is also expected to get 120 Hz ProMotion technology for the first time on a non-Pro iPhone, so that's great. Of course, Samsung has been doing that for years.
| Galaxy S25 Edge | iPhone 17 Air* |
|---|---|
| Size: 6.7" | Size: 6.6" or 6.7" |
| Brightness: 2,600 nits | Brightness: 3,000 nits |
As for biometrics, we expect the usual — an ultrasonic fingerprint reader embedded in the display on the S25 Edge and Face ID on the iPhone.
Performance and Software
Snapdragon 8 Elite vs Apple's new chip
The Galaxy S25 Edge is a true flagship and it's no surprise it runs on the powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite chip as other Galaxy S25 models.
As for the iPhone 17 Air, it is likely to run on Apple's upcoming A19 chipset. There are no specifics about that chip just yet, but we will update you once they appear.
The Galaxy will have an advantage with 12 GB of RAM on board compared to an expected 8 GB RAM on the iPhone.
| Galaxy S25 Edge | iPhone 17 Air* |
|---|---|
| Processor: Snapdragon 8 Elite | Processor: Apple A19 |
| RAM: 12 GB | RAM: 8 GB |
| Storage: 256 GB 512 GB | Storage: 128 GB 256 GB 512 GB |
Both phones will support AI, though, so at least that will not be a concern.
The Galaxy S25 Plus base model also comes with 256 GB of storage, while we expect the base iPhone model to only have 128GB of native storage.
Camera
One vs two
Slim phones have to make some concessions and apart from a smaller battery, the other adjustment these two make is with cameras.
The S25 Edge is the first Samsung flagship in years to skip a telephoto camera as it only has two cameras on board, while the iPhone 17 Air goes even further in compromise territory with only one rear camera.
As for the Galaxy, it has a 200 MP main camera, using the same hardware as the Galaxy S25 Ultra, while the secondary camera is an ultra-wide one with a 12 MP sensor borrowed from the S25 Plus.
The iPhone is expected to feature a single 48 MP main camera.
| Galaxy S25 Edge | iPhone 17 Air* |
|---|---|
| Main Camera: 200 MP | Main Camera: 48 MP |
| Secondary Camera: 12 MP ultra-wide | - |
| Selfie Camera: 12 MP | Selfie Camera: 24 MP |
We are yet to see how people react to this. Some will be outraged, but we are not sure the ultra-wide camera gets all that much use anyway and for us, a telephoto camera would be a better addition (and both phones DON'T have one).
Battery Life and Charging
Worse than a regular phone, but how much worse?
With a 3,900 mAh battery on board, the Galaxy S25 Edge has less capacity than even the small vanilla S25 model (that one features a 4,000 mAh cell).
And we expect the iPhone 17 Air to also have a small battery, likely even smaller than the one on the Galaxy.
Samsung says the S25 Edge can last for 24 hours of video playback, while the Galaxy S25 is officially rated for 29 hours, while the S25 Plus is said to last for 30 hours. So even official Samsung numbers confirm that the S25 Edge will have the worst battery life in the series.
It's still too early to say what this means for real-world battery life, but one thing is clear — neither the S25 Edge, nor the iPhone 17 Air will win battery benchmarks.
| Galaxy S25 Edge | iPhone 17 Air |
|---|---|
| Size: 3,900 mAh | Size: Unknown |
| Charging: 45 W | Charging: 25 W |
| Wireless Charging: 15 W | Wireless Charging: 25 W |
As for charging, we get 25 W charging speeds on the Galaxy and the usual 20 W charging on the iPhone.
The Galaxy also supports wireless charging, while for the iPhone that is not confirmed yet (but very likely).
Summary
Despite their smaller battery size and the fewer cameras, the Galaxy S25 Edge and iPhone 17 Air are very exciting.
Everyone seems to be tired of the boring sameness of modern smartphones and a thinner design might just be that breath of fresh air users need.
Which of these two should you save up for? Honestly, it seems that both the Galaxy S25 Edge and iPhone 17 Air share more similarities than differences, so it will be more about users preference for either Android or iOS.
Which one would you go for and why?
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